Waiting Patiently
by asymmetric implosion
Summary: Everyone in the village thinks Naruto and Sakura are a couple, but Sakura isn't ready for a relationship. Narusaku ONE-SHOT


A Naruto-Sakura one-shot that's been sitting on my hard drive for a while. Enjoy.

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><p>Sakura stood in the women's locker room in the hospital. She washed her face before looking into the mirror. She watched as the water droplets formed beads and ran down her pale skin. She closed her eyes after a moment and took a deep breath. The surgery was intense. It was supposed to be a routine teaching surgery for medic nin trainees. She had experienced staff to support her as was the policy but it went well beyond her expectations. It took every trick she knew and some she invented in the spur of the moment to save the patient.<p>

After the long event, she was mentally exhausted. She opened her eyes to see some of her female students talking together behind her. She wanted to huff when the word student crossed her mind. Some were older than her. Most ninja didn't start medical training under they were in their late teens or early twenties. It took that long to develop the chakra control that came so naturally to her. She looked at one hand.

"Take the lives of my enemies and save the lives of my comrades," she said softly remembering the oath she swore as a combat medic.

The rosette splashed water on her face again before reaching for a towel. She dried her face and turned toward her locker. She pulled out a clean shirt when she arrived. She was in the middle of changing when she heard her students walk up to her locker. About half the trainees were kunoichi.

"Do you want to join us for a late dinner, Sakura-sensei?"

The rosette smiled.

"Thank you but no."

She was grateful her students were so eager to learn. They were always finding her in the village and asking questions. She appreciated the interest but she wasn't in the mood to relive her actions in the operating room.

"No work. We promise," said another young woman as Sakura pulled her clean shirt over her head.

Sakura smiled. They were determined. They weren't going to absorb her abilities by being close to her. They had to gain it through experience and this operation was supposed to help them gain experience. However, she quickly had to take over and save the patient. This wasn't like learning ninjutsu where you could keep trying until you got it right. This was a human life.

"Thank you but I'm pretty tired. Another time," she offered to appease them.

An elder medic kunoichi that was the introductory instructor for this group heard the conversation and walked over.

"We appreciate your eagerness to learn but even instructors have lives outside the hospital," said the elder woman.

She was approaching thirty. She was a competent medic and an excellent instructor. Sakura smiled at her elder colleague and nodded.

"Would you want to hang out with a bunch of kunoichi when Naruto-sama's arms were waiting for you?" added the elder kunoichi with a smirk.

Sakura's head snapped her fellow instructor. The students sighed at the same time.

"You are so lucky, Sakura-sensei. You are an amazing medical ninja, apprentice of the Godaime and you have the most attractive man in Konoha as your boyfriend," said the youngest student.

She was seventeen. Sakura noticed on a few occasions she carried romance novels with her.

"Midori," said one of the elder students in a chiding tone.

Midori blushed and put her head down.

"Forgive me, sensei," she whimpered out.

"I am lucky that Tsunade-sama gave me a chance but I had to earn everything after that. She demands the best and anything short of that is unacceptable. If you dedicate yourselves to being a medical ninja, you can become great as well. Isn't that right, Hana-sensei?"

The elder kunoichi nodded.

"Hard work is essential but having a proper outlet for frustration is also important. I'm sure Naruto-sama distracts you and lets you relax."

Sakura didn't miss the snicker. The rosette sighed.

"Naruto and I are good friends and teammates. Our bond is very strong but we are not boyfriend and girlfriend."

She was growing tired of repeating this line in its varied forms. The rumors seemed to come and go. Sakura hoped there were nearing the peak of this cycle. Her patience was wearing thin.

"Whatever you say Sakura-sensei," said Hana.

The rosette rolled her eyes. The students quickly departed to gossip while Hana walked away seemly quite pleased. Hana liked to stir the pot in the sterile hospital to spice things up. She was notorious for making comments that irked her superiors at the worst times. She wasn't' going to advance her career but she seemed content being a medic nin and part time instructor. Sakura had no intention of letting her career be limited.

The rosette finished dressing and closed her locker. She sat on a bench in the now empty locker room. She buried her face in her hands for a moment. Screaming might make her feel better but someone would think she cracked. Her normal stress relief of training wasn't going to happen tonight. Her heart wasn't in it. She raked her hair with her fingers trying to figure out how to make the rumors stop. A few minute brainstorming session wasn't going to fix this problem. She rose from the bench and walked toward the entrance of the hospital. She greeted fellow medic nin as she walked to the exit. She reached the main desk. Without going behind it, she reached over and pulled out the sign out sheet. She left her mark trying to escape before any of the nurses noticed her. The nurses were gossiping at this late hour because the patients were resting and new admissions were unlikely. As she placed the clipboard back on the desk, the head nurse turned to her.

"Have a good night, Sakura-san," said the woman with a big smile.

Sakura didn't miss the woman's eyes dart to the front waiting area. He was waiting. No wonder people thought they were dating. He walked her home from the hospital whenever he could. It was a nice to have a friend to talk to after a long day but it gave people the wrong idea. Sakura walked to waiting area to find her teammate sitting in his usual chair. He was reading his favorite book. She stopped in front of him and crossed her arms. He opened his mouth without looking up.

"If you tell me you're at the best part I'm going to smack you," she warned.

He looked up and smiled. She glared at him and he closed the book. He popped up out of the chair with his usual energy. He gave her a quick look over. It wasn't a perverted leer, but an examination out of concern.

"Five hours on your feet?" he asked.

She shook her head and walked out the door. He followed silently.

"Nearly six," she finally said when they walked onto the street.

"Ouch," he replied.

They walked in silence for a moment.

"What did you do today?" she asked.

"Trained my squad. Ate some Ram…salad," he said.

"Ram-salad huh?" she said in an irritated tone.

She was waiting for the drama.

"Come on, Sakura-chan. You know that Ramen and I are made for each other. It's like a match made in heaven."

She was too tired to have this argument again. He needed to eat better and she told him that on many occasions. She put together a rather logical argument about his health and patterns in the village making him easy to attack. All in all it was a well reasoned logical argument and she should have known it wouldn't have the slightest impact on his decisions. It was frustrating in two ways. The first was he didn't listen. The second was that he could eat so badly all the time and stay in shape. Women across the Five Great Nations would kill for his metabolism.

"Whatever," she responded and continued to walk toward her home.

He whined a bit before letting it drop. As they approached her door she turned to find his eyes fixed on her. His usual dumb grin was spread across his face. When caught he rubbed the back of his head and looked down the street.

"If you were leering at me," she threatened knowing he wasn't.

He waved his hands defensively.

"I'm just happy being with you. I wasn't thinking anything else," he blurted out.

She gave him the usual warning look and focused on her house that was just up the street. She still lived with her parents. Between missions and hospital work she didn't see a point in having her own apartment. She was seldom home. Also, it was nice to have people at home. She'd had a number of meaningful conversations with her mother after late shift at the hospital over tubs of ice cream. Tonight she was going home to an empty house. Her father was traveling to pick up some items for the family shop. Her mother opted to go with him. The rosette was a little concerned about the giggling that came from her mother when she talked about the trip. Sakura cringed a little at the implications. She was a trained medic and her mother taught her about the birds and bees at a young age, but the thought of her parents being intimate still grossed her out.

"What's wrong?" asked her teammate.

She shook her head.

"Nothing," she answered.

In true Naruto fashion, he didn't let it drop so she finally told him. He was unfazed by it.

"What's so gross about that?" he asked.

"They're my parents," she said as they reached the door.

The blonde shrugged.

"I think it's great that they still express their feelings for each other. It could be worse. They could hate each other."

She nodded in agreement.

"But don't you think our kids will find it gross?" she asked before she realized what she said.

Sakura's head snapped to the blonde. He didn't seem to flinch. He took it the right way. She meant when she had kids with someone and he had kids with someone. She didn't mean when they had kids together. He shrugged his shoulders.

"No idea," he said.

His tone told her it was time to change the subject not only for her sake but because this was venturing into dangerous territory with him. It reminded him yet again how he was different from the rest of his friends.

"I can't wait to get off my feet," she said trying to expedite his leaving so she could get this day behind her.

He nodded.

"Good night," he said without his usual almost pout.

She answered and turned toward the door. She turned back immediately.

"Naruto," she called out.

He was only a few steps away. He turned back to her.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I didn't mean to remind you about your parents."

He nodded and smiled.

"I know," he answered.

He smiled at her for a moment before turning away again.

"It's not impossible, you know," she said.

He turned around looking confused.

"Having kids…yah know…you and me," she said suddenly feeling like an idiot.

Her intention was the cheer him up and now she was opening a door that he closed a long time ago. He hadn't asked her out in years. They always seemed to meet up and do things together but it was not a formal date. She wasn't sure how to read the expression on his face. After a short silence he walked in front of her. She felt uncomfortable with him this close after what she just said. His right hand touched her left cheek gently. She looked up and saw his blue eyes filled with determination. He started to lean forward and she was trapped. It was over almost as quickly as it started. He stepped back and withdrew his hand. Her hand reached for her forehead where he planted a soft kiss.

"I've always wanted to kiss your forehead," he said when she made eye contact.

Her hand was still touching the spot he kissed. She wasn't sure how to react. He turned to leave when he stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"I know we'll have kids someday. We'll date for a while before we get married in a small ceremony; just our friends and your family. Probably in the spring about the time of the cherry blossom festival. I'll be Hokage and you'll be doing something super important in the medical corp. You'll come from work exhausted. I'll draw you a bath before rubbing your feet."

Sakura removed her hand from her forehead. A storm of emotions was erupting in her chest. She knew the thought of a foot rub was really appealing at the moment.

"Until then, I'll keep walking you home from the hospital until you fall for my charms."

She glared at him halfheartedly. He turned to leave again.

"What if I fall madly in love with someone else?"

He looked over his shoulder with an amused expression on his face.

"You can be madly in love with two people?" he asked.

She was confused and showed it. He turned his body to face her.

"Well, you're madly in love with me and I'm available. Why make it harder than you have to?" he asked.

Her temper flared up. She was going to teach him a lesson about presumption.

"When you wake up in the morning, who do you want to see the most? When you go to sleep who do you think about last? When you go into an empty house, who do you want to be with you? Does it hurt you when this person is hurting? Do you get terribly jealous when this person spends time with another?"

The rosette's jaw dropped.

"I know the answers to these questions and you are that person to me."

Her hormones were taking her mind to her fantasies. Sakura needed to take control of this.

"Why haven't you asked me out," she inquired.

He smiled.

"You are too stubborn to be pressured so I switched tactics," he answered.

She clenched her fist and released it over and over.

"When you can't beat an opponent in a direct assault you need to find a tactic that will exploit her weaknesses."

Sakura was ready to lose it.

"I'm not some enemy to be beaten," she growled.

He nodded.

"It is not you that I'm trying to defeat," he said with a smile.

She was confused again.

"It's whatever holds you back," he answered suddenly serious.

She took a step back.

"I don't know if it's Sasuke, the war or something else, but I will not hurt you. I wanted to show you that. Being friends is a good way to start."

The rosette turned toward the door. She wasn't going to discuss this right now. She was exhausted and she'd say something hurtful. She'd hurt him enough as early teens and she wasn't going to start again now in their early twenties.

"I don't want to talk about this," she said putting her hand on the door knob.

She heard him take a step toward her.

"I know you don't want to talk about it. That's why I didn't say anything before."

She turned and looked at him. He stood silently for a moment before smiling.

"Good night, Sakura-chan," he said with a slight bow.

He turned to leave again. This time she let him. She watched him walk up the street until he turned the corner. She opened the door and went inside. She closed it and leaned against it. She really dodged a kunai. If they kept talking she'd hurt his feelings and that was the last thing she wanted. He deserved more than that. He deserved more than she could offer him. Her hand went to her forehead. She touched the spot he kissed again. A small smile crept onto her face.

"Naruto, you jerk," she said. "Don't you know you're supposed to kiss a girl on the lips?"

She shook her head and kicked off her boots. She showered and ate some leftovers before crawling into bed. It didn't take long for her eyes to grow heavy. She whispered her teammates name before falling asleep. Outside her window two blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight before disappearing in puff of smoke.


End file.
